Lowest Paying Jobs Requiring a Degree — 2018

For most people, what they majored in at college impacts their earning capacity — lifelong. No doubt college graduates typically (but not always) make more than non-degreed individuals. The median annual wage among jobs that require a college degree earn $65,000 compared to $37,690 across all jobs. As usual I invoke the TINSTAANREM axiom — There Is No Such Thing As A National Real Estate Market. Nor are incomes or the cost of living the same across the country.

24/7 Wall St completed a study on the lowest paying jobs that typically require a college degree. They reviewed annual median wage estimates for all occupations from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Survey, which is annually conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wages are from the 2017 OES edition. There are eight occupations that require a college degree but also pay less than the national median wage of $37,690. The 33 lowest paying jobs requiring a college degree are listed below. Several of these lower-paying jobs require a Master’s degree in addition a Bachelor’s. Just one of these occupations is forecast to have declining demand – Reporters & Correspondents, which are expected to shrink the workforce by 10 percent over a decade.

To see information on the OES Survey for all occupations click https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm For anyone that has a family member already at college or heading there soon needs to spend some time perusing these data so they are fully informed of the likely compensation ramifications of the selected field of study.

While money is not everything, it may impact the quality of life for many.